LIGHT-HEARTED LAUGTHER filled Lenny's old kitchen, the spacious room now decorated the way Jade liked it. The brown cupboards had become white, simply to make the room brighter, the gold handles in vintage style perfectly matched the small decorative accents in the room.

Jade had tried to spend as little money as possible on the renovation, to waste as little money as possible from what her father had left herᅳ it was more important to her to save most of it so that Thomas could later choose the path he wanted to take, even if it would cost money.

And she was sure that Jax saw it the same way. No matter what Thomas would decide later in life, Jade would stand behind her son, proud and happy.

"I can't believe what you've done with the house." Alison's laughter slowly died down, replaced with a wistful expression as her gaze wandered around the room, just like she did after she put the salad for later in the fridge. "I mean, it was beautiful before. But now..a dream."

"I know, right?" Jade quickly wiped the countertop, humming softly. "I think I would have always regretted it if I actually sold it. But I also had a lot of help to turn it into this."

"From Jax, I know", the blonde hummed, not really in the mood to talk about him again as her fingertips danced over the dark countertop of the kitchen island. She stopped close to Jade, leaning her hip against the counter. "I wish we could live here together."

Jade bit down on her lip, sighing softly. Again she noticed that Alison just didn't like to hear anything about Jax. "Hey, your apartment is nice too. Big, bright, right in the middle of town."

The brunette slowly turned around, facing her best friend. "Do you know how long the water damage will last? I mean, you probably want to settle in, right?"

"It almost sounds like you don't want me here." Alison's answer came quick, sounding genuinely hurt. "We were always close, Jade, practically lived together in Arizona and now?"

"Look, Alison", Jade began with a sigh, trying to find the right words that somehow got stuck in her throat as the blonde glared at her. "Jax and I decided to move in together two weeks ago. It would just be nice if that finally happenedᅳ but I know you're not a fan of him so I asked him to wait until you can finally move into your apartment."

Since Alison's arrival two weeks ago, the blonde had been living with Jade because a pipe in her bathroom had apparently burst and caused huge damage to the entire apartment, especially the floors. Apparently so extreme that they couldn't even get in until the drying machines had done their job and the floor was replaced.

For Jade it had been natural to help her friend, not once had she doubted Alison's words but she was slowly getting fed up with the snippy remarks and the resentment she harbored towards Jax. He was her boyfriend and all Jade wanted was for her best friend to be happy for her, especially since Jax hadn't done anything to Alison. On the contrary, he always tried to get along with her but, which was understandable, started to get annoyed by her attitude towards him.

"Youᅳ you are moving in together?" Alison asked after a long, silent minute, genuine shock crossing her features. "Why didn't you tell me? Youᅳ you've only been together for a few weeks. And have you forgotten what his mom and his wife did to you? You can't really spend your future in an environment like that! Are you even thinking about yourself and Thomas anymore?"

"What the hell, Ali?" Jade huffed out as she took a step back, running her fingers through her long, dark brown strands. "Jax isn't to blame for his mom's and ex-wife's actions", her emphasis clearly on ex-wife, a disappointed glint now in her blue eyes. "I'm finally starting to think about Thomas and me. Do you know how long I've wanted an intact family? How much I hoped that Jax and I would get another chance at some point?"

Jade pushed her petite frame away from the counter, fishing a cigarette out of the box on the windowsill. "I never stopped loving him and was never able to forget about him. Shit, I was daydreaming about raising Thomas with him to a point it became unhealthy", she told her friend with a snort, opening the window.

The Cooper woman placed the cancer stick between her lips and lit it, taking a deep drag while her gaze never left Alison, her friend's face twisted in annoyance and anger, maybe even..jealousy? Jade couldn't tell.

"I want this, with him and our boys, Ali", she finally said, smoke slipping past her lips with each word she spoke. "And it would be nice if you could be happy for me, because I would be tooᅳ I'd be so happy for you if you finally found happiness too."

Alison swallowed hard, hating the steadfast look in Jade's eyes that she usually loved so much. Her friend really did love Jax, she could see that. And while she had been back in Arizona, Jade hade built her perfect little future. And normally Alison would love that for her, Jade's happiness being her top priority anyway.

But not with Jax; or anyone else in that matter. She alone wanted to be the one responsible for the sparkle in Jade's eyes, be the one who gets to wake up next to her every morning and take care of breakfast for her friend and her son.

"You're making a mistake, Jade. The man, his lifestyleᅳ you're going to get hurt someday; again!" Laughing bitterly, Alison rubbed the tip of her nose, shaking her head violently. "I can't do this right now", the blonde whispered before she decided fleeing was the best solution, storming out of the house without taking anything with her.

Jade only sighed when she heard the door slam. Mumbling something under her breath, the brunette closed her eyes, taking two deep breaths before she turned her gaze out the window, wondering how everything could suddenly get so out of hand.

ᅳ

AFTER AN IMPORTANT MEETING with the Chinese and Nero, Jax had headed straight to daycare to pick up his sons. Both boys now had a permanent place at the facility, which gave Jade the opportunity to look for work without having to pay a babysitter every day.

"We made pictures with finger paints", Abel said happily as he walked next to his father, his little steps quick so he could keep up with Jax. "On Friday we can take the pictures home."

"Sounds great, buddy. I can't wait to see what the two of you did", Jax replied enthusiastically, smiling down at his son. As he saw how fast Abel had to walk, he slowed down a bit. "We can hang them up in your and Thommy's rooms."

"Pictures!" Thomas clapped his hands with a giigle, happily swaying from side to side on Jax' arm. "Where's mommy?"

"Mommy is waiting at home", Jax chuckled before placing a kiss on Thomas' forehead on their way outside. "When we're home we'll have lunch and then we could go to the park afterwards if you want?"

"Oh yes!" Abel jumped up and down, giggling. He loved that his daddy had suddenly so much time for him and his brother and was more at home than at the clubhouse. "Can we take the ball with us? I wanna play soccer."

"Daddy, ball!" Thomas' face was beaming, his vocabulary improving a little with each passing day. Also, he had picked up on Abel calling the blonde daddy, so he started doing so, too.

Jade and Jax had told Thomas that Jax was his dad, the Cooper woman also had always made sure to show Thomas pictures of his dad while they had still lived in Arizona. But of course the two-year-old didn't understand everythingᅳ but as long as he realized who Jax really was, everything else didn't matter.

In the last two weeks, a few words had been added to Thomas' vocabulary that the boy kept picking up. In some cases he could already form small sentences, even if they still sounded unclear at times. Apparently it really only took the first little push for the rest to follow.

A laugh vibrated through Jax' pride-filled chest. "We'll take the ball, don't worry. But first we're goin' home. Mommy made spaghetti."

Which he did after he had stowed the kids in Jade's SUV and buckled them up, taking the quickest route home so he could finally spend some time with his Old Lady. During his time with Tara, coming home felt more like a duty, something he was never looking forward to much. But with Jade he never wanted to leave the house in the first place.

It wasn't really his home yet, but it definitely felt like it. With Jade, he felt like he had finally found his place and he hated that everything had to wait because of Alison. Above all, he had found out something that made his blood boil, but he didn't let his son's see the anger he felt inside. But it was something he definitely had to discuss with Jade.

ᅳ

WHILE THE SAUCE was still simmering, the boys were playing in the living room and Jax took advantage of the quiet moment he had with his Old Lady in the kitchen now that Alison wasn't aroundᅳ what a surprise.

"Where's your admirer, huh?", he asked teasingly, but the words leaving a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. "A wonder she's not here, clinging to you."

"Jax, stop." Shaking her head in amusement, Jade playfully hit his arm, smiling softly as his arms wrapped around her from behind as she filled the four bowls with noodles. "We had..a little argument", she told him with a sigh.

"What, why?" Jax took the ladle from Jade's hand before turning her around to face him, looking down at her attentively. "What happened, darlin'?"

"The usual", the brunette snorted, a hint of sadness in her tone. "She's not a fan of our relationship and I just don't know why. When I asked when she could finally move into her apartment and told her that you were moving in with me, everything somehow escalated."

"She knows that we're moving in together and then suddenly reacted all cranky?" Jax shook his head with a bitter snort, pushing his hair back as his tongue slid over his lower lip. "There's something I have to tell you that I found outᅳ and please don't be mad at me, okay?"

"What did you do?" Jade sceptically eyed her boyfriend, crossing her arms. "Why should I be mad at you?"

"It's about Alisonᅳ I have a strange feeling about her since the first time I saw her." With a sigh, the blonde leaned against the kitchen island, his own arms crossed in front of his chest, his gaze directed at his Old Lady. "Ever since she's been here, she's been clinging to you, she doesn't give you a god damn second to breathe. At night she crawls into your bed, supposedly because she hates sleeping alone. Apparently she didn't have a problem with that in Arizona though", he took a deep breath, closely watching the confused expression form on Jade's pretty face.

"She gets snarky when I'm with you, when she's not allowed to pick up Thomas, she's always trying to manipulate you with the stupid argument that I'm not good enough for you because of who I am", he added firmly, lowering his voice as the kids ran past the kitchen while playing. "I had a chat with the landlord, simply because I don't trust her, because I have a weird feeling. Turns out there's no water damage."

Jade's face turned pale, the color now a stark contrast to her red lipstick and dark hair. Jax heard her swallow, could practically see the penny slowly dropping, but his Old Lady was still trying to find a logical explanation for itᅳ unsuccessfully.

"How, but..why would she lie?", she asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper and yet there was a certain anger in it. "Why would she do that?"

"You know why, babe", Jax sighed, gently grabbing her wrist to pull her closer. "Alison is obsessed with you in a pretty unhealthy wayᅳ and I want her out of the house today. I know it's your house, your decision, but you're my Old Lady and I'm worried about you and my son."

Still unable to process all of this properly, Jade stared at up her boyfriend in disbelief. No matter how hard she tried to find a logical explanation, she couldn't, not one. On the contrary, everything finally started to make sense and Jade was almost embarrassed that she had apparently been blind to her friend's feelings and intentions.

"She's in love with me", she breathed, the hard reality finally hitting her. Completely dazzled, she looked at Jax again, whose wish she could completely understand. Besides, under these circumstances, she wouldn't feel comfortable around Alison anymore either. "All the snarky comments against you weren't personal..she would've hated anyone, no matter who, at my side. Howᅳ how couldn't I see this?"

"Because she's your best friend and, besides Lenny, she's been the only person you've had to rely on for the past few years", Jax stated matter-of-factly before cupping her face in his hands. With his forehead resting now against hers, he placed a loving kiss on her lips. "This has to stop, darlin'. You're mine, which makes it my duty to protect you. And I don't give a shit about how she feels. She should've been honest from the start instead of spinning a web of lies."

"No, I know..what she did is wrong", Jade agreed immediately, narrowing her eyes while she  wrapped her arms around Jax' waist. "I'm sorry for constantly defending her over the past two weeksᅳ I shouldn't have."

"Don't worry about it, babe, everyone would try to defend their best friendᅳ I would've done the same with Ope." Jax ran a hand his long fingers through her hair, then rubbed her back as Jade's body began to shake slightly. Either because she was angry or about to cry. "I'm sorry for doin' that behind your back. But I wanted to be sure if I was right or if I was just imagining things."

"I'll talk to her when she gets back." Jade shook her head slowly, the news still weighing heavily on her shoulders. "And then I want a reasonable explanation. But she's definitely moving out today."

"I'm not leavin' you alone with her", Jax said firmly, his shoulders tense as his grip on her face tightened, his protectiveness kicking in. "We'll have our peace someday, I promise."

"I really hope so." Jade heaved a dry laugh, just disappointment in her eyes. "Why is everyone getting in our way, Jax? What did we do to deserve this?"

"I don't know, darlin'", the blonde sighed, his tone tired as he thought about the last few weeks and all the events. "The important thing is that we don't let it get to us, okay? We have each other and our boys, that's all that matters."

"All that matters", Jade repeated with a soft nod and the smallest of smiles, seeking the comfort in Jax' arms that she needed right now.

First she had lost her father, now maybe her best friend and Jax his momᅳ that absolutely sucked. But somehow they would get through this as long as they had each other and their sonsᅳ together.

word count; 2652